A 'pregnancy-style' coronavirus test which gives results on the day would be the 'holy grail', the Health Secretary has said.
Matt Hancock said such a test would 'transform how we act as a society, short of a vaccine' during an interview on LBC radio this morning (September 7).
He said that kind of 'on the spot' testing could help to get people back to work, the theatre and sports events and would 'allow us to have a merry Christmas'.
There were 2,988 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus as of 9am on Sunday (September 6) - a sharp spike from Saturday's figure of 1,813.
It’s the highest number recorded since May 22.
During his appearance on LBC radio, Mr Hancock said the 'holy grail' of testing would be a 'pregnancy-style test' where a person could take a saliva swab in the morning to know they were not infectious that day.
“If we get to that position that would transform how we act as a society, short of a vaccine,” he said.
When asked about people getting back into theatres to go to pantomimes, Mr Hancock told LBC: “That is the hope that we hold out for the nation, that we can get things going even if there isn’t a vaccine, that we can use mass testing so people can check whether they have the virus today, if they don’t then (they can) go and do things, even if it means being in close confinement.
“We need to use the next design of tests which don’t require you to send the swab off to the lab and get the result back.
“There’s a new technology that we’re backing to get a test where you can have the turn around essentially on the spot and so you can imagine being able to go to something like the theatre, or a sports event, or to work, and you have the test, you get the result back and then they can go into the theatre.
“That is what we’re working on, that is the hope, and I also hope that will allow us to have a merry Christmas.”
Speaking about the Covid-19 vaccine candidate by AstraZeneca, Mr Hancock told LBC the company is already starting to manufacture 30 million doses, ahead of approval.
“So that should approval come through – and it’s still not certain but it is looking up – should that approval come through then we are ready to roll out,” he said.
“The best-case scenario is that happens this year. I think more likely is the early part of next year – in the first few months of next year is the most likely.
“But we’ve also bought vaccine ahead of it getting approved from a whole different series of international vaccines as well.”
